TUI Travel to increase India business

Plans to roll out stores in Ahmedabad, Chennai and Hyderabad in next few months

Tour operator TUI Travel is expanding its reach in India with stores planned in Ahmedabad, Chennai and Hyderabad in the next few months. The company opened its Mumbai store on Friday.

TUI has been present in India since 2006 and a joint venture with Le Passage to India, which specialises in inbound tourism and meeting & incentive tours. However, the group has been slow to grow its domestic tourism business and its outbound business focuses largely on North India.

“India is an exciting market for us and we see tremendous potential for growth here. Our intention is to create a diverse product portfolio by bringing some unique and specialist brands from TUI’s global portfolio,” said Jeanette Linfoot, director of tour operations (new markets).

Vishal Sinha, chief operating officer of TUI India, said: “We have consolidated our position in North India and we have a good agency network...I don’t think we have lost out by coming late to Mumbai.”